Winter Bay
by Lily Duveau
Summary: After Alexis is abducted, Castle and Beckett struggle to pick up the pieces of their relationship. Multi-chapter story starting after 5x16.


When he and Alexis return home, he isn't sure which emotion he is feeling. It cannot be joy, because he just met his father, who is responsible for his daughter's kidnapping in the first place. It cannot be sorrow, for his daughter is safe and sound, and nothing has happened to her that cannot be healed. That he knows of.

She is tired, but explains what happened in detail, the most traumatic seeming to be when she was on the rooftop in Paris, and in the cage in that mansion. When they get home, Kate and Martha greet them both lovingly,and he can't help but see something different in Kate's eyes. Martha goes to bed an hour after, and when she does, it is Kate who gets the wine.

It isn't her favorite, but his. She grabs two glasses, and he sits on the couch, awaiting her return. She takes longer than usual, but he does question it, just waits. She approaches a few moments later with it, but sits on the other end of the couch. He sighs loudly, and drinks his wine. The silence bothers him, drills a hole into his heart, but he doesn't say anything. He knows she wants him to break it.

He leaves first, promising he will explain tomorrow, kissing her atop her head before going into his bedroom. She joins him an hour and half a bottle of wine later.

* * *

She isn't there when he wakes up, so dresses quickly and heads to the kitchen, only to find a note from her.

_Rick,_

_body dropped late, didn't want to wake you. _

_No one expects you to come in today, take it off and spend it with Alexis._

_Love,_

_Kate_

As much as he wants to be angry at her for not waking him up, he knows she had his best interests in mind. He would have taken it off anyway, along with the next few days. Alexis, by some miracle, had slept soundly throughout the night. To his knowledge.

He isn't sure if he wants to ask Kate about her therapist, but he wants one for Alexis. Her and Kate are so similar that he fears she will hide from this instead fighting it properly, with help. Kate knows better than that now, he hopes. If something else happens to one of them... He doesn't want to think of the infinite possibilities.

He walks up to her room, knocking on the door gently before letting himself in. She is sitting at her desk, most likely typing something up for a class she missed. This would be normal behavior, but he knows she's using it to distract herself. Exactly like Kate.

He leans on the door frame. "Alexis, I think you need to talk to somebody about this."

She takes a few seconds to answer, slightly tilting her head to see him. "Dad, I'm fin-"

"No, Alexis, you are most certainly not _fine, _or _okay. _Please. Kate knows somebody, and it wouldn't be long. What you went through, Alexis... No one blames you."

She straightens her back before she faces him, turning her chair. "Alright, but I really have to finish this now."

"Thank you," he says, before closing her door and leaving the room.

He heads to his office after, opening his laptop and a new writing file. His fingers type but his brain doesn't connect, he is most certainly not writing about Nikki Heat. He laughs as he reads over it later, his only piece of 'serious fiction' yet.

The rest of the day passes by quickly, just as the following days do. He invites Kate over but she denies his request every time, and he hasn't been at the precinct since before Paris, and he doesn't make plans to head back. He hasn't seen Kate for so long, so when she shows up at his door the week after, he can't say he isn't surprised. She seems normal, and to her so does he.

The two are anything but. He grabs a bottle of wine, two glasses, and joins her in the bedroom.

* * *

She speaks first. "Do you regret it? Going without me, I mean."

He doesn't want to ruin their night by talking about this. He knows it will just end up with them fighting, and her leaving. He was right. "Kate, what if you were fired? You didn't have any jurisdiction there, and you could easily have been killed, Kate."

He can see the emotions change on her face. "I could have gotten killed? I'm sorry, who's the cop here? I was trained Castle, you're just a writer! I get that she's your daughter, but God, would it kill you to include me sometimes?"

"I'm sorry Kate. She's here, she's safe. And so are _you."_ She empties her glass and places it on a coaster on her nightstand. She turns over, her back to him.

"You aren't sorry. Saying the words doesn't make it better, Castle."

At least she doesn't leave.


End file.
